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UK Graduate Visa — SLA Compliance

Verified from UK Home Office on 2026-04-20

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This is a UK immigration route processed by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) under the Home Office. The data below shows the percentage of Graduate visa applications decided within the service level agreement (SLA) timeframe, broken down by quarter and priority tier.

Latest: 2025 Q3

Priority

92.6%

processed within N/A

Standard

99.3%

processed within 8 weeks

Super

83.0%

processed within N/A

What does SLA compliance mean? The UK Home Office sets target processing times for each visa route. The percentage shows how many applications were decided within that target. For example, 47% means fewer than half of applications met the service standard — the rest took longer.

Quarterly History

QuarterStandardPrioritySuper Priority
2025 Q399.3%92.6%83.0%
2025 Q299.2%91.2%57.1%
2025 Q198.2%85.9%65.5%
2024 Q498.3%89.5%92.9%
2024 Q397.0%92.5%93.5%
2024 Q297.2%91.7%93.1%
2024 Q197.5%
2023 Q498.6%
2023 Q398.0%
2023 Q297.4%
2023 Q196.9%
2022 Q497.0%
2022 Q393.2%
2022 Q296.9%
2022 Q195.9%
2021 Q493.2%

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When will your UK Graduate visa likely be decided?

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a UK Graduate visa take to process?

The UK Home Office targets 8 weeks for standard Graduate visa applications. As of 2025 Q3, 99.3% of applications were decided within this timeframe. You can pay for Priority processing (5 working days) or Super Priority (next working day) for faster decisions.

What does "99.3% SLA" mean for UK Graduate visa?

It means 99.3% of Graduate visa applications were processed within the 8 weeks service standard. If the SLA is below 80%, a significant number of applicants are experiencing delays beyond the target timeframe. Priority and Super Priority tiers have their own separate targets.

Is it worth paying for Priority processing on a Graduate visa?

It depends on the current standard processing performance. Standard processing is meeting its 8 weeks target 99.3% of the time, while Priority (5 working days) is at 92.6%. If the standard SLA is below 80%, paying for Priority significantly reduces your risk of delays.

How often is UK Graduate visa processing data updated?

The UK Home Office publishes transparency data quarterly. Each report covers a 3-month period and includes SLA compliance rates for Standard, Priority, and Super Priority processing across all visa routes.

Why are there different processing tiers for UK visas?

The UK offers three processing speeds: Standard (8 weeks), Priority (5 working days, additional fee), and Super Priority (next working day, highest fee). The SLA percentages show how reliably each tier meets its target — even paid tiers occasionally miss their targets during high-volume periods.

Source: WaitVisa.com — UK Home Office, updated 2026-04-20